Living On Mission with Josiah and the Book

Living On Mission with Josiah and the Book

I think Josiah must have been a big fan of HGTV, just like me. Ok, maybe not. But, he was doing some renovations on the temple. (Flip that Temple! Ok, ok. I’ll stop.)  At some point while work was being done on the temple, High Priest Hilkiah found the Book of the Law and told Secretary Shaphan about it. Secretary Shaphan dutifully took it to King Josiah and read it in his presence.

 

King Josiah’s reaction to the Book was incredible.

 

King Josiah was devastated. He was so distraught that he tore his robes – a physical expression of the grief in his heart. He instructed High Priest Hilkiah to, “Go to the Temple and speak to the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah. Inquire about the words written in this scroll that has been found. For the Lord’s great anger is burning against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words in this scroll. We have not been doing everything it says we must do.” (2 Kings 22:13)

 

Josiah realized that he, and the people, and all of Judah had broken the laws and the heart of God. He knew that God was angry, and rightfully so, because they were completely ignorant of His Laws. The Truth was revealed in the words on that scroll. That Truth impacted Josiah and set him on a course to align his heart and his actions with what had been discovered.

 

Josiah was changed by the Truth of God’s Book.

 

What about you and me? Are we devastated when we discover that we have been going against something in God’s Word? Do we allow God’s Book to change our hearts, our behavior, and the course of our lives? Can we change our ways and “do everything it says we must do?”

 

Let’s practice living on mission, and be people who know the Book and do what it says!

 

Pastor Angela